Green Gate News: Pumpkin Chunking Is Back! Black Women In Business, CSA Update, And More!
FARM STAND/ADVANCE ORDERS
Farm Stand at Big Red Bergstrom Barn, East Austin (8310 Canoga Ave., Austin 78724, info@greengatefarms.net)
Open to all, Saturday mornings until noon
Veggies, Flowers, Garden Plants
Breathtaking Beauty at our 1902 Historic Bergstrom Farm
Volunteers welcome!
This week at the farm stand you’ll find:
Flower Bouquets
Kale
Swiss Chard
Mustard Greens
Collards
Arugula
Lettuces
Cucumbers
Kohlrabi
Radishes and more...
Herbs:
Onions,, Garlic Chives, Fennel, Mint, Thyme, Basil
Coming soon: Broccoli, Turnips, Cabbage and Cauliflower!
Advance Orders via “REKO Ring”
Place your order weekly at private Facebook page for touchless pick up on Saturday mornings
Green Gate Gift Cards Available Give the gift of fresh, organic food while supporting our farm; Farm Bucks for all your celebrations.
FARM NEWS & EVENTS
At east Austin Farm/Village Farm agrihood:
Pumpkin Chunkin! Back by popular demand, we’re partnering with The Tinkering School for the thrill of launching your Halloween pumpkins across the farm using trebouchets. Pony rides and other family fun. Saturday, Nov 6, 2021, 11-3. $5 suggested donation.
November Music Festival to Benefit Black Women in Business.** Thanks to our pals at The Intentionalist, our farm will be hosting an incredible and intimate dinner/music experience **every Saturday night in November. Limited outdoor seating beside Big Red Barn, 6-9pm.
November 6: Poetry, Gospel, & Star Gazing
Featuring an upbeat music performance by Gospel Starz, internationally acclaimed poet and slam champion Ebony Stewart, a night stargazing with telescopes guided by a local astronomer, open bar featuring curated cocktails, dinner bites, and an exclusive interview with CEO/Founder of Black Women in Business Rose Smith.
November 13: Blues, Bourbon, & Birds
Featuring American blues harmonicist, singer, and songwriter, "Birdlegg" Pitman, featuring selected fall bourbon-themed cocktails from Still Austin Whiskey Co., dinner bites from Austin local favorite restaurant Bird Bird Biscuit, an exclusive interview with Green Gate Farms Co-Founder Erin Flynn on food justice, urban farming, ecological sustainability in ATX, and Travis Audubon sharing about their work to protect birds and their wildlife habitat.
November 20: East Side King & An Evening with Eastside Kings
Featuring an outdoor concert by Austin's beloved five-piece blues and festival favorite band Eastside Kings, dinner bites from one of Austin's most famous food trucks, East Side King, Japanese street food with a touch of Austin soul, and open bar featuring farm-themed cocktails, and an interview with Green Gate Farms Co-Founders.
November 27: Thanksgiving, Music Showcase, & Wine Tasting
Featuring intimate performances from selected ATX musicians, including singer/songwriter Alex Maruri, post/progressive rock band Silent Like Lightning, Latin folk/soul Karin Florez Hinojosa, multi-instrumentalist Craig Milroy, wine tasting paired with each music set, and Egyptian/Texas fusion BBQ bites from KG BBQ.
*Limited parking so please carpool or be prepared to walk from Loma Vista Clubhouse, 8507 Hidden West Blvd, Austin, 78724
CSA NEWS
For the first time in 15 years, we are not offering our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) vegetable and flower program. One of the reasons for this is that we are focused on infrastructure, including: rebuilding our farm stand, pavilion, and event space at our east Austin farm and finishing a barn, intern housing and establishing wedding and camping space at our River Farm. As soon as the dust settles, we hope to offer a CSA once more. In the meantime, please support our farmer friends who do have CSAs, including: Middleground Farm, Steelbow Farm, and Vrdnt Farm (Bastrop pick up locations include Eden East’s farm stand)
FLOWER NEWS
Volunteers are welcome as we prep our fields now for early spring flowers. This is a busy time as we plant “cool” flowers that can take the cold, including: delphinium, snapdragons, bells of ireland, dill,... Our goal is to seed/plant as much as possible now so we can have a farm stand and CSA full of flowers this spring. Here’s more info about how you can get involved.
Sign Up For Our Flower CSA Spring Season Here! 12 weeks: April 2-June 25, $20 bouquet weekly/prorated, pick up at east Austin farm stand. Or join for one month in May and/or June.)
BLOG: What It Means to Plant a Tree by Farmer Skip
When I read yesterday’s obituary for the ivory-billed woodpecker — called the “Lord God bird" because of its tremendous size — I had to pause for a moment of silence. The extinction of a species of any creature cries out for deep reflection, especially if you are the species that caused its demise.
Eight hours after the EPA’s pronouncement that this lofty woodworker is no more, I could barely sit through NPR’s coverage of the wildfires entering Sequoia National Park. An exhausted ranger was pleading for a more aggressive response to the climate crisis. Behind her stood a threatened redwood, silver foil wrapped like a band aid around its 30-foot base. The more she shared of the tragedy unfolding there, the more she choked up — not from smoke but tear-burning grief. How could she not? She is caretaker of one of earth’s oldest and largest species. They survived centuries of natural disasters. They may not survive us — creators of too many untold, unnatural disasters.
I woke up this cool fall morning unrefreshed, still unnerved by an endless summer of bad weather and bad news. I asked myself once again: what can I possibly do at this late hour? What difference can little me make, one among seven billion? What real impact can I measure from having planted a couple hundred trees, farmed without chemicals, reduced the miles I drive to deliver our vegetables? Have I mitigated anything other than my guilt over a lifetime of overconsumption?
I asked this question of the hour and in the awkward silence of my hesitation, all I heard back were echoes of that last “Lord God bird” — the tap tap of its ivory bill, the nasal toot of its lonesome call. I heard it calling to a mate no longer answering, to an old-growth forest no longer growing, to a “Lord God” no longer listening.
Read the full story here!
GET INVOLVED WITH TREE PLANTING By Farmer Erin
This is the time of year to plant trees. Getting them in the ground now gives roots the time needed to mature before the stress of summer. But what should you plant?
If you’re unsure, you’re not alone. Every week our farm hosts volunteers, most of whom have never gardened or are newly arrived to Central Texas. We explain to them the importance of choosing native, hearty trees like jujubes and loquats and to consider varieties with useful traits like the crunchy Keiffer pear that can be stored for months.
Planting a tree is easy. Keeping it alive is the challenge. A couple weeks after February’s killing Polar Vortex we planted an orchard of 60 fruit trees at our historic east Austin farm. A large group of volunteers - mostly residents of Village Farm, the new Tiny Home agrihood around our farm — helped dig holes amended with rock phosphate and Azomite (trace minerals) for trees we sourced from Womack Nursery. Normally we wouldn’t plant that late in the year, but given weather challenges and tree shortages, we hoped for the best. The good news is that more than two-thirds of the trees survived.
During this Fall season our goal is to plant at least 200 more trees and start a small tree nursery. We’ll add 20 fruit trees to the orchard, and another 40 trees (like Arizona cypress, jaupon, fig, etc.) to replace those lost to development on the north side of our farm. At our River Farm, we’d like to plant 150 trees before spring (Loblolly, mulberry, etc.). We have big goals and a small bank account so your help is appreciated, whether its for planting or purchasing trees.
You can sponsor a tree at our River Farm by clicking here. When you do, we’ll plant and tag it with your name so you can visit and give your tree encouragement as it grows.
Give us a shout if you’d like to join in our next round of planting, info@greengatefarms.net.
Tree Resources We Like
TreeFolks
LBJ Wildflower Center
Arbor Foundation
The Natural Gardener
Hill Country Natives
Womack Trees
Milberg Farms (he sells rare Haupt Figs)
The Wholistic Orchard by Michael Phillips
NOTE from Treefolks: If you own streamside land with minimal canopy cover in eastern Travis County and are interested in having your land reforested at no charge to you, contact us about our Travis County Floodplain Reforestation Program.
AGRIHOOD NEWS
Construction is underway for the second phase of Village Farm, the Tiny Home agrihood that will encircle our east Austin farm. More than 50 home sites are being added on the west and north sides of the farm. Tiny homes for these lots should start moving in by this spring. To learn more, contact Rebecca Powers, Village Farm, (512) 399-3793.
GET INVOLVED
Internships: We are putting our team together for Spring 2022 so now’s the time to submit an application for our internships. A wide variety of positions are available.
Volunteer on our farm! Shifts available in east Austin and Bastrop. No experience necessary. Just complete the volunteer form on our website and we’ll be in touch! Also, are you a graphic designer with some spare time? We need help making a flyer!
Black Women in Business: We have partnered with this organization to help with their east Austin feeding program. Rose Smith is a dynamo who can always use more hands.
Want to help local farmers? Here’s how: Texas Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association (TOFGA) is the leading voice of education and advocacy for organic food production in Texas. As a member-run/funded organization, TOFGA includes farmers, ranchers, gardeners, dairies, cheese makers, soil amendment producers, nurseries, food markets, farmers markets, educators, students, eaters and more. Be sure to attend the TOFGA conference, and lend your support: www.tofga.org.